Ta-Nehisi Coates
Between the World and Me is a notable work by Ta-Nehisi Coates, a writer, journalist, novelist, comics writer, blogger, and educator who works in English and holds United States citizenship. The book stands alongside The Water Dancer as one of the two named titles in his body of work, and Coates has received the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize for Nonfiction among the honors accumulated across his career.
Coates was born on September 30, 1975, in Baltimore. He attended Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Woodlawn High School before pursuing his education at Howard University. He has worked across several distinct forms — journalism, fiction, nonfiction, comics writing, and blogging — and has also served as an educator. The awards he has received reflect that range: the George Polk Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis, and a National Magazine Award recognize his journalism and nonfiction, while the Eisner Award for Best Limited Series recognizes his work in comics. In 2015 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
The breadth of Coates's output is further marked by his novel The Water Dancer, a named work that extends his practice into long-form fiction alongside his nonfiction and comics writing. His recognition in the comics field, specifically the Eisner Award for Best Limited Series, points to a sustained engagement with that medium as a distinct creative discipline. The MacArthur Fellowship, awarded to him in 2015, represents one of the more prominent individual honors in his record.
Quotes by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Ta-Nehisi Coates's insights on:
It is often said that Trump has no real ideology, which is not true - his ideology is white supremacy, in all its truculent and sanctimonious power.
There's a long tradition of black folks pleading with white people. It's a tradition that emerges from political necessity, so I get it; I'm just not very interested in it.
I guess I'd be put in the ID politics camp. But there is really nothing in the world-view of, say, Bernie Sanders I actually disagree with. I'd like a guaranteed income, single-payer health care, a stronger safety net, etc. The problem is the temptation to paper over historically fraught issues to achieve that is tempting.
I'm a writer. My job is to speak what - that which I think is true. If that bridges the gap, that's good. If it doesn't, that's too bad.
I think it's really important to be conscious of yourself and the world around you. For me, that meant reading a lot and reporting.
Long view of history shows evil triumphing more often than we'd like to admit. That's just how it is. I don't despair too much about dying, either. It's just a fact of being human.
You don't make a case for reparations thinking, 'Oh yeah, people are gonna love this.' I didn't see that coming.
